Greece’s prime minister launched efforts to form a coalition government to run the country for the next four months, saying yesterday that the move is vital to securing a mammoth new debt deal and demonstrating commitment to remaining in the eurozone.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou won an early-morning confidence vote in the Socialist-led parliament on a pledge that he was willing to step aside and form a cross-party caretaker government.
However, it remains unclear whether the main opposition conservatives and other parties will take part in the talks and drop a demand for an immediate general election.
Hours after winning the vote, Papandreou met with Greek President Karolos Papoulias.
“Cooperation is necessary to guarantee — for Greece and for our partners — that we can honor our commitments,” Papandreou said at the start of yesterday’s hour-long meeting.
“I am concerned that a lack of cooperation could trouble how our partners see our will and desire to remain in the central core of the European Union and the euro,” he said.
Papandreou, mid way through his four-year term, was forced into the move by his austerity-weary Socialist party after he abandoned a proposal to hold a referendum on a new European debt deal.
Frustrated with Greece’s protracted political disagreements, the country’s creditors have threatened to withhold the next critical 8 billion euro (US$11 billion) loan instalment until the new debt deal is formally approved in Greece.
Greece is surviving on a 110 billion euro rescue-loan program from eurozone partners and the IMF. It is currently finalizing a second mammoth deal: To receive an additional 130 billion euro in loans and bank support, with banks agreeing to cancel 50 percent of their Greek debt.
“My immediate aim is to do everything I can to create a broad cooperation government ... I am not tied to my post,” Papandreou said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
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